The Opelousas courier., 1887-12-03
NEW YORK LIFE.
The Boy About Town-His Experience
with the Married ;BeIle-A Snub.

with the Married ;BeIle-A Snub.
There are as many kinds OF. boys about
town as there are varieties of golden rod.
They are as plentiful now in New York as. the
years ago. There is The fat boy about town,
who lunches daily at Del's; and the thin one,
whose legs are no thicker than his cane, who
lunches off his friends. There is the boy
fashion in boys viii allow: and the languld
boy who shows an inclination to drag
in his feet bis cane and = his his
who has no bright particular star, but loves
the whole planetary system-that is, when
the system moves in the upper air currents
the boy who can say with that hat sharm Ill g
for-it's the chase;'' and there is the boy WHO
loves with a nineteenth century New, York
frenzy the gayest and prettiest married belle
Of the season. Then there is the cold, CYL
ical boy, who disbelieSes in wome as shal;
low, caltow things, made to suckle fools and
chronicle small beer. 1t would have to be
very small, beer, where the boy was corr
soft-hearted boy, who haunts 5 O'Clock
teas. plays. on the guitar and smokes
bovs abort e tsap snd eI dhsre ones are ngl Sto opeg
and handsome ones: rich ones and poor ones.
In fact, they have but one point in common
according to their own accounts they are
al terribly wicked. They have u not kept p
deed, close contact with it seems to have
polka-dotted them. They break hearts tfad
banks with equal ease, and the 'fredalne3f
which they murmur to each other over, black
coffee and cigarettes are particularly lur1d.
They are mild epitomes of those young-
very young-Greek gods, whom burning
Ouida loved and sung.
ssThe boy about town ceases to exist after
the age Of twenty-three. Some me9 pass this
"pons asinornm'' between youth and man.
hood without being boys about town at all.
/ Uhn hnyyu rIfrv Thar nJ vNNSt- ayNn y-lNN
have never known the real spice of life. The
boys themselves regard life as only success
full when thoroughly spicy-but then, one
mans spice is another mans mustard water.
The place to see the real, genuine boy in
all his glory is Fifth avenue of o fine after
noon. Arrayed in all the panoply Of his
proud clothes. with beautiful shining boots,
pointed as pirs, on his neat little feet. with
his elbows bowed outward at the correct an
gle. with his hair eurled like the Assyrian
monareh's on his brow, and orange gloves
on his hands, he swings up the avenue ex-
hlbiting the latest importation in walks.
This undulating glide. reaching its highest
development in q slight dip in the knees and
droop in the shoulders, is the. boys greatest
of boys about town. Let q youth of tender
years be dressed in the most ultra fashion,
let his mustache be fainter than the first
flush of dawn, let him have o whole menage-
RE OF heraldic fauna Eamholing or the top
Of his note paper, let him have the tishiest
glance to be found outside the finny tribe,
let him ''give the grin" with the spasmodic
suddenness of a flash Of lightning but if
he doesn't walk Just in that way he is a hol-
low sham, q wretched copy of that refulgent,
radiant, incompatible beinG-the real boy
about town.
But it is in the balls that the boy reaches
the apex of his glory. There is, no installing
him then-languid.. weary, with heavy.
dropping lids and hair shining like his
d doorpoas and P p}eRp VIZ r ie eoId, f iseR1its tire
eyes the budding beauties and blessomed
bellies. He has q friend to support him
though this weary evening, a rosy, dimpled,
gold, chains emerge, vanishing darkly be-
meath his waistcoat, and on whose fingers
CLEAN rings. galore. A reigning beauty
tioatlng past them In 6 mist CT tulle, from
which her slender waist energies, widening
with q graceful sweep into her bare and
cleaning shoulders. says airily to her part
ner:
to have been in bed long ago."
The boys hear her, but they never finch.
The soul of q boy about town must soar
used to them. They look after her with lazy
interest, and one says loudly, Ior even a boy
must have his revenge:
Used to be q corking fine girl about five
Presently, In a crowd of black coats and
~obsequious bowling heads, a popular married
belle drifts into yieY-a jolly. dainty little
lady, with fuzzy blonde hair, a plump satiny
| llNShp df4b 1 L1fih CytD1ohb uIIlIt Z
flaxen bang. Either the strong. contrast of
her eyebrows and hair, or the bird-hke mo-
tons Of her head, recall a famous opera
boutfe singer. She Is very Vlvacious, has
f Eers ss snlail g gay lI saa things Espui ia n
gay little way, extremely fascinating.
Now, If there is one thing the boy loves as
Tommy loves a lord it is a married belle, who
is the fashion. The married belle likes him,
too, in her artless little Japanese way, and
sometimes she takes him up, " with the III.
IS she can get something better. Popular
favor, as she knows, is not eternel and q
boy about town in the hand is worth a dozen
nen sbont town. in the bush, She agrees
it is an exceedingly cold e1y for the dog.
So when the boy about town tries to PEREZ
trate into her notice he finds. the atmosphere
arctic. He iris to push his way between
the surrounding men. but they, suddenly
close up shoulder to shoulder and block him
out; Then he goes round the phalanx and
has her back turned toward him, as she
laughs with the semi-circie of men. She
doesn't see him and goes on talking. He can
see the long black gloves drawn up over her
plump pink arms, the dear little Reathery
curls which turn down IN the nape OF her
| neck, the clasp Of her diamond necklace, the
loose, erimped hair drawn up into shining
about feathers set bewitchilly on. one side.
As she pauses he says softly in bis best and
Good evening, Mrs. Marabout: charmed
to see you. Can't / have q dancer"
aOh, dear boy, is that you ~ she says,
glanciing at him over her shoulder with
laughing insolence. Glow, pretty yon
I know. you're dying to get me o glass of
water like a sweet. good boy.,n
AL the surrounding. men laugh wickedly,
and the charmer laughs up into their faces
with tilted chin and sparkling eyes.
The boy goes. burning for revenge. He
revenges himself like the lady in the story,
who, when she had been snubbed by Mrs.
Brown. The 0 ylooks for d victim On whom
to vent the venom Of his spleen. He finds
one sitting lonely in o corner under the
drooping green spikes OF a palm. yawning
couples with wistful eyes. There. ia some
thing in her expeefant attitude and express
sion suggestive of thS victim fattening for
boy boy sAo She H IS 3 'eibo na q the her 70 Te sae
whose biossoming has not been brilliant.
She is neither rich nor pretty, and is
too artless and shy to say the smart fast
things which make the other girls successes.
In fact, she is rather an insignificant little
girl, whose modestly-cut gown allows two
collar-bones, TO stand confessed in all their
caaed in long yellow gloves. as much too
vide Tor them as a boys trousers are for his
legs. As she sees the boy nearing her she
looks alluringly at him. hope dawning in her
langnid greetings and SINKS into q chair.
His manner lis quite different to that with
which he greeted Mrs. Marabout. He was
only tired then; now he is bored.
Isn't it q lovely dance ~ says she, very
sprightly.
"0h, yes, y passing his hands YEARLY over
hiss eyes, but taking care not to ruhie his
bangs.
'.The girls look lovely, don't they 2"
|" Pom me soul, / haven't noticed. 10
And the floors just delightful, isn't it7n
Don't knowI haven't danced"
him at the door passes by on the arm Oh a
tall, disting uishedlooking) man. with two |
others in her wake, struggfingswith her pro-
gramme. She is flushed, triumphant and
beautiful.
me Iitfla hnd. 10 whom sha Ia Aha -anitnrno